About

“If you talk to a man in a language that he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.” Nelson Mandela

The aim in the MFL department at Raine´s is to provide our students with a positive language learning experience. Speaking a foreign language improves the functionality of your brain by challenging it to recognise, negotiate meaning, and communicate in different language systems. This skill boosts your ability to negotiate meaning in other problem-solving tasks as well.

We are committed to mixed ability teaching and recognise that to do this effectively; the curriculum has to be planned carefully. Both KS3 and KS4 are well-resourced, all room are equipped with interactive whiteboard. We use Viva in year 7 and 8, and Mira and Listos in year 9, for KS4 and KS5 we use AQA book by Nelson Thornes to support the Spanish curriculum. We create most of our own resources, and have access to many online resources.

We are proud of the fact that we maintain links with former pupils, and those pupils who have been successful in languages return to support current Raine´s pupils in their MFL lessons.

Staff

KS3

Spanish is taken by all pupils in year 7 to 9 and by those pupils who have opted for the subject at Key Stage 4. Spanish is taught for two periods a week in year 7 and from year 8 Spanish is taught for three periods a week as part of the MFL allocation.

From September 2016 the school will be adopting a two-year KS3 programme of study; therefore provision will change as year 8 students will opt to continue with their language studies in February of their academic year.

Year 7 Spanish VIVA 1

Autumn Term

Module 1 Mi vida

Module 2 Mi tiempo libre (Part 1)

Spring Term

Module 3 Mi instituto

Module 4 Mi familia y mis amigos

Summer Term

Module 5 Mi ciudad

Year 8 Spanish VIVA 2

Autumn Term

Module 1 De vacaciones

Module 2 Todo sobre mi (Part 1)

Spring Term

Module 2 Todo sobre mi (Part 2)

Module 3 ¡A comer!

Summer Term

Module 4 ¿Qué hacemos?

Year 9 Spanish FCSE Exam

In year 9 all pupils will be entered for the FCSE exam by AQA. This course helps students develop communication skills routinely acquired at levels of study equivalent to National Curriculum Levels 4, 5 or 6. The qualification bridges the gap between ELC and GCSE. There are three levels of award: Pass, Merit or Distinction. FCSE covers all four language skills: Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing.

This qualification can be used as a standalone accreditation or is ideal preparation for a GCSE in Spanish. GCSE Spanish counts towards the English Baccalaureate.

KS4

KS4

The study of a modern foreign language is no longer compulsory in line with National Curriculum requirements. We aim to consolidate any knowledge of Spanish acquired in the lower years and seek to develop the pupils´ ability to speak, understand spoken and written Spanish and to write accurately. Their areas of experience will include introducing themselves, talking about where they live, about the weather and free time activities, out and about in town and daily home and school routines.

The overarching work of the department is to develop confidence in the pupils´ ability to learn a new language by laying solid foundations in language learning. We focus on strategies such as comparing pronunciation in English and Spanish, similarities in both languages, the gender of noun and its effect on adjectives and past participles, using quantifiers and learning about cognates. They are also taught to cope with new vocabulary, to use high frequency words, connectives, spelling patterns, work out meanings, to add more detail and to understand the sequence of words in Spanish.

We offer annual trips to Barcelona or Madrid where students get the opportunity to soak up some Spanish culture. We have a Spanish assistant who works with the students in small groups or one to one.

KS5

A-level Spanish helps students develop confident, effective communication skills in Spanish and a thorough understanding of the culture of countries and communities where Spanish is spoken. It develops an interest in, and enthusiasm for, language learning and encourages students to consider their study of the language in a broader context.

This four-unit specification requires students to develop their ability to write and speak in Spanish with accurate grammar and syntax for a range of purposes and to understand written or spoken Spanish in a variety of contexts and genres.

This course is particularly suitable for students who have studied GCSE Spanish or the AQA Certificate in Spanish and wish to study Spanish at a higher level.

AS Subject content

Media: Television, Advertisement and Communication Technology

Popular Culture: Cinema, Music and Fashion

Healthy Living: Sports, Healthy Wellbeing and Holidays

Family and Relationships: Relationships with the family, Friendships, Marriage and Partnerships

AS EXAMINATIONS

Unit 1 – SPAN1

Listening, Reading and Writing

70% of AS, 35% of A Level

2 hour written examination

110 marks

Unit 2 –SPA2T

Speaking Test

30% of AS, 15% of A Level

35 minutes speaking test (including 20 minutes preparation)

50 marks

AS Examinations

A2 Examinations

2 at a Glance

A2 Subject content

Environment: Energy, Pollution and Protecting the environment

Multicultural Society: Immigration, Integration and Racism

Contemporary Social Issues: Wealth and Poverty, Law and Order and Impact of scientific progress